The present invention refers to a segment roll for use in a continuous casting machine.
In a continuous casting machine slabs of metal are continuously cast from molten metal, which is poured from a ladle down into a tundish, from which it is conveyed to a water-cooled mould, where the slab of continuous cast material begins to solidify. Thereafter the slab is continuously fed between two curved tracks, formed by a plurality of segmented rolls, which continue to shape and cool the slab to the final thickness of the cast material.
The segment roll for a continuous casting machine comprises conventionally a non-rotary shaft with a number of roll segments mounted thereon, and with bearings and sealing cassettes built into every roll segment. The inner rings of the bearings have been mounted directly upon the shaft, which means that it has been necessary to deliver the long roll with all the segments arranged on the shaft as otherwise the sealing cassettes and the bearings can fall off or be displaced during transport. As the segmented roll can have a length of more than two meters, the long and heavy rolls have required special transport facilities, when delivered from manufacturer to the site of the continuous casting machine. At assembly of these conventional rolls it is furthermore required large mounting forces and special tools for pushing up the roll segments with sealing cassettes and bearings on the shaft.
After mounting of the segments it is furthermore not sure that the lips of the sealing cassettes have not been bent away or if the shaft has been subjected to scratches or other damages, which in both cases could mean that the sealing function is lost.